Recipe Exchange: Irish soda bread, scrapple

February 05, 2013

LOOKING FOR FOUND

Patricia Metzger of Bethlehem sent in a recipe for Irish Soda Bread for Lois Rau of Lower Nazareth Township. This recipe is from "Classic Irish Recipes" by Georgina Campbell. "It's a very rustic bread. Not like some of the bread you get in supermarkets," Patricia says.

Sharon Kurtz of Emmaus sent in a homemade scrapple recipe for Fred Wentzel of Green Lane. "I never made this recipe so I can't tell you how it is, but I thought I would send it in for him," Sharon says. The recipe is from a small spiral-bound cookbook called "Bethlehem Recipes," Incorporating with revisions "Moravian Recipes" (1969), second printing 1972, third printing 1975. AAUW, Bethlehem Branch."

Fern Buss of Whitehall sent in four scrapple recipes for Fred Wentzel. The first recipe was published in the "Walp's Family Restaurant Cook Book" and the rest came from the "Pennsylvania Dutch Cook Book."

IRISH SODA BREAD

4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat a hot oven, 425 degrees. Mix the flour, salt and baking soda together in a bowl, then stir in buttermilk and mix to a soft dough. Turn onto a floured worktop and knead quickly and lightly. Form the dough into a flat, round cake, about 2 inches high, and cut a deep cross into it to ensure that it cooks evenly. Put on floured baking sheet and bake in hot oven for 30-40 minutes or until well risen and lightly browned. When cooked, it will sound hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on wire rack and eat fresh with butter and jam.

Variations: Some add a little sugar (1/2-1 teaspoon) with the dry ingredients. A small amount of butter (up to 2 tablespoons) rubbed into the dry ingredients or melted and added with the buttermilk enriches the bread and helps it to keep better.

—Patricia Metzger, Bethlehem

SCRAPPLE

1 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder

1/4 lb. pork liver

1 qt. water

3/4-1 cup yellow corn meal

2 tsps. salt

1 cup water

1/4 cup finely chopped onions

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried sage

1 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Combine pork shoulder and pork liver in a pot with 1 quart water and cook over a moderate heat for one hour. Drain, reserving broth. Discard all bones and chop meat fine.

Brown onion slowly in a little shortening. Add pork, seasoning and water or pork broth. Cook at simmering for 20 minutes. Add to buckwheat flour and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, since mixture scorches easily. Turn into mold, cool, cut in 3/4-inch slices and fry on both sides in shortening until brown. Serve hot. Can served with pancake syrup.

—Fern Buss, Whitehall

SCRAPPLE

Hog's head

4-5 qts. cold water

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp. ground sage

Granulated yellow corn meal

Separate one hog's head into halves. Remove and discard eyes and brains. Scrape thoroughly to clean the head. Put into a large heavy kettle and cover with four or five quarts of cold water. Simmer gently for 2-3 hours or until the meat falls from the bones. Skim grease from the surface; remove meat, chop fine, and return to liquid in the kettle. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and ground sage. Sift in granulated yellow corn meal, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened and the consistency of soft mush. Cook over low heat for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, as mixture scorches easily. When cooked, pour the scrapple into greased loaf pans and cool. To serve, cut into thin slices and fry in hot fat until crisp and browned.